新概念英语第二册（77）

【New words and expressions】生词和短语（14）

mummy                      n. 木乃伊

Egyptian                     adj. 埃及的

temple                         n. 庙

mark                            n. 斑点

plate                             n. （照相）底片

disease                         n. 疾病

last                               v.  持续

prove                           v. 显示出

resin                             n. 树脂

skin                              n. 皮肤

section                         n. 切片

figure                           n. （人的）体形；人像

normally                     adv. 通常地

survive                         v. 幸免于

★last             vi. 持续，延续（常跟一个表示时间的名词或短语，没有被动语态）

last 直接加时间或加 for+时间

The meeting lasts (for) three hours.

The war between the two countries lasted (for) over three years/until 1453.

★prove               v. 显示出

① vi. 显示，表明

prove +adj.

It proves difficult to do the job by herself. prove +to be +adj.

It proves to be difficult.

② vt. 证明，证实（后面可跟从句、形容词、名词、不定式等）

I will prove it to you.             我将会证明给你看

We’re been trying to sell our house, but it’s proved to be very difficult. You should first prove that you bought these goods here.

【Text】

The mummy of an Egyptian woman who died in 800 B.C. has just had an operation. The mummy is that of Shepenmut who was once a singer in the Temple of Thebes. As there were strange marks on the X-ray plates taken of the mummy, doctors have been trying to find out whether the woman died of a rare disease. The only way to do this was to operate. The operation, which lasted for over four hours, proved to be very difficult because of the hard resin which covered the skin. The doctors removed a section of the mummy and sent it to a laboratory. They also found something which the X-ray plates did not show: a small wax figure of the god Duamutef. This god which has the head of

a cow was normally placed inside a mummy. The doctors have not yet decided how the woman died. They feared that the mummy would fall to pieces when they cut it open, but fortunately this has not happened. The mummy successfully survived the operation.

参考译文

死于公元前  800  年的一位埃及妇女的木乃伊刚刚接受了一次手术。这是曾在底比斯神殿里当过歌手的赛潘姆特的木乃伊。由于在给这个木乃伊拍摄的 X 光片子上有点奇怪的斑点，所以，医生们一直试图搞清这位妇女是否死于一种罕见的疾病。搞清的唯一办法就是手术。手术持续了 4 个多小时，非常难做，因为皮肤上覆盖着一层硬硬的树脂。医生们从木乃伊身上取下一个切片，送去化验。他们还发现了  X  光片所没有显示的东西：一个蜡制的杜瓦木特夫神小塑像。这种牛头人身的神像通常被放在木乃伊体内。医生们至  今还未确定这位妇女的死因。他们曾担心在把木乃伊切开后，它会散成碎片，但幸运得很，这种情况并未  发生。这具木乃伊成功地经受了这次手术。

【课文讲解】

1、The mummy of an Egyptian woman who died in 800 B.C. has just had an operation.

B.C. = Before Christ           公元前，放在年代的后面。

A.D.              公元，放在年代的前面,常常可以省略。

2、The mummy is that of Shepenmut who was once a singer in the Temple of Thebes.

that 指代上文当中出现的名词 the mummy。在指代特指事物时，尤其是在比较状语从句中，常用 that

和 those 指代提到的事物：

The cost of living here is lower than that in London. that of 和those of 一般用于较正式的文体中：

It's colder than Guangzhou. × （北京、广州是地点，只有大小之分，本身没有冷和热）

The weather of Beijing is colder than Guangzhou. ×

The weather of Beijing is colder than the weather of Guangzhou.

= The weather of Beijing is colder than that of Guangzhou. ∨ The texts of Book Two are more difficult than those of Book One. The area of the USA is larger than that of Britain.

Temple of Thebes          底比斯神庙

3、As there were strange marks on the X-ray plates taken of the mummy, doctors have been trying to find out whether the woman died of a rare disease.

take plates of sth.           给……拍片子

take photos of the mountain

take plate        拍片子，take photo        拍照片

4、As there were strange marks on the X-ray plates taken of the mummy, doctors have been trying to find out whether the woman died of a rare disease.

find out + 从句

die 是瞬间动词，不能和段时间连用。要和段时间连用，就必须变成系表结构 be dead。die 不能用be doing

形式。若用了 be doing，表示即将发生的动作。He has died for three years.                                    ×

die in the accident           死于车祸

die of + 内因     死于……

die of hunger

die of grief           死于悲哀

die from + 外因     死于…… die from wound                      （枪伤） He died from the heart disease.

在日常生活表达当中，die of 和 die from 可以互换。

5、The only way to do this was to operate. way + of                               做……的方式（做定语） way + to do                              做……的方式（做定语）

6、The doctors have not yet decided how the woman died. what 对名词提问，how 对副词或介词短语提问。

how 在这里是对 of sth.提问的。要想用 what 提问，died 后面加 of。decide v. 做出最终的判断，对……下判决，解决（悬案）

The police cannot decide yet which of the two men is guilty.

7 、 They feared that the mummy would fall to pieces when they cut it open, but fortunately this has not happened.

fear          v. 害怕（长时间的）

cut open          切开

fall to pieces =go to pieces           碎成碎片，散掉During the storm, the old house fell to pieces. After two years their marriage fell to pieces.

【Special Difficulties】

B.C. and A.D.

B.C. = Before Christ           公元前（位于年代之后）

The Romans invaded England in 55 B.C.

A.D. = anno Domini(=in the yeare of the Lord=since Christ was born)          公元前（位于年代之前）

George I died in A.D. 1727.

Skin，Leather and Complexion

skin             n. 人体的皮肤；指某人是什么颜色的皮肤（可与 complexion 互换） We are wet to the skin.

He has a dark skin/complexion.

leather             n. 皮革

Shoes made of real leather have become very expensive. This sofa is made from real leather.

complexion             n. 肤色

Look at her rosy cheeks. She has a lovely complexion.

Wax and Candle

wax                    n. 蜡（不可数名词）

All the figures in this shop are made of wax.

candle             n. 蜡烛（可数名词）

I keep a candle by my bed in case the lights go out suddenly.